Both sides cry foul in Mendocino County labor talks

County of Mendocino administration and the union that represents the vast majority of its workers have once again both filed claims against each other asserting illegal practices in labor negotiations.

The county and the Service Employees International Union, Local 1021, filed claims with the state Public Employment Relations Board in 2011 and again this year, each claiming the other party used unfair labor practices.

Union workers went on a one-day strike Tuesday, putting an estimated 700 county employees on picket lines in Willits and Fort Bragg, and in Ukiah around the county Administration Center and Mendocino County Superior Courthouse, and in front of the Social Services building on South State and Gobbi streets.

The county issued a statement Monday calling the union's strike plans illegal because the union hadn't properly notified the county, and had gone on strike "prior to attempting to utilize impasse procedures."

An "impasse" requires state mediation to reach an agreement between the two parties.

The union claims the county's declaration of impasse was premature. SEIU, on behalf of the 700 county workers it represents, filed unfair labor practice charges of "bad-faith bargaining, contracting out services and refusing to negotiate changes in health care premium increases."

At issue is a 10 percent pay cut employees throughout the county's systems had been taking voluntarily for years. The county made the cuts permanent in the last negotiating round with SEIU two years ago.

Now that the county has built a general fund reserve of nearly $9 million, the workers are asking the county to reinstate the lost wages.

"While the county has a surplus, mainly due to takeaways and attrition, county officials are demanding workers continue to stay the course' with ongoing cuts and carry more increases in healthcare costs," according to a Tuesday statement from SEIU. "Workers are asking for wage restoration over the life of the contract, which workers are proposing be three years."

Mendocino County was ill-prepared for the economic recession that started in 2008, according to a statement issued two days after the strike, and took a hit to its revenue from property tax -- the county's primary income source.

In addition, the recession "added over $100 million in employee pension liabilities to the county's books and nearly brought the county to bankruptcy," the county's statement says.

County CEO Carmel Angelo calls for change in the county's financial practices in the statement.

"The county needs to restructure, pay off debt, build stability and realize economic growth before we can look at sustainable pay increases for our employees," according to her statement. "Otherwise a pay increase is just another false promise."

Angelo said the county's financial future "has an upward trajectory," citing the newly-built reserve, decreased debt levels, the county's improved credit ratings and "renewed interest by investors in the community," according to the county's Thursday statement.

County operations on the day of the strike were varied across the organization, according to the county Executive Office.

In the Thursday statement, county Chief Probation Officer Buck Ganter says offices in Ukiah, Willits and Fort Bragg were open, all court obligations were met and Juvenile Hall was fully staffed.

However, according to the statement, picketers blocked access to the Yokayo building complex on South State Street just south of Gobbi Street, where Social Services are housed, for about 100 SEIU members who wanted to work and were "being interfered with."

Cryer stated that Ukiah police and Sheriff's Office deputies arrived and "were able to get the public's business under way."

Cryer said remaining county workers served 178 clients at the Employment and Family Assistance Center and six new walk-in clients at Veterans Services, completed 80 case actions in Child Welfare Services and delivered a litter of nine puppies at the county's animal shelter.

(To adopt any of the "strike puppies" call 463-4427, the county urges.)

The county Department of Transportation reported that 49 of its 80 staffers went on strike Tuesday, "closing down all regularly scheduled operations and forcing the department to focus on emergency calls only," according to the county's statement.

Dashiell noted in the statement that some employees who crossed picket lines to work faced "backlash" from employees on strike.

"SEIU has been undertaking an aggressive effort to organize this strike in DOT for over six months now, and I don't think that's been in the spirit of good-faith negotiating at the table ... especially considering that the bargaining process began in June," Dashiell stated. "For months now, they (SEIU) have been appearing at the road yards unannounced, even going to the work sites themselves. It was so disruptive that our safety officer eventually had to intervene because the union was disrupting the work of our flaggers while they were on station, which is simply unacceptable and dangerous behavior."

The strike also "effectively shut down" the county's library system and a planning office in Fort Bragg, according to the county Executive Office.